Expat and travel blog featuring stories on living overseas destinations, as well as some stuff on the expat blogosphere too.

Food and Drink

08/27/2013

If you're living in the area around Valencia in Spain - or happen to be nearby at the end of August, then you may hear about strange goings on in the town of Buñol. Basically, every year around this time in August they hold what's known as La Tomatina - a very slightly bizarre festival that bills itself as 'the world's biggest food fight', where 'more than one hundred metric tons of over-ripe tomatoes are thrown in the streets'.

Equalling the Pamplona Bull Run for sheer exuberance (although without the danger), La Tomatina has been held regularly since the mid 1940s and has developed into a strong tradition, with the local authorities now ticketing the event to control the numbers of people who want to join in the madness.

The origins of the event are unclear, with a number of different stories as to how this small town became the venue for an unruly annual tomato fight. Some of the possible origins of La Tomatina that have been suggested include:

a practical joke on a bad musician

a schoolyard food fight

and perhaps the most amusing theory: the 'anarchic aftermath of an accidental lorry spill'

There's a host of crazy festivities during the festival, including a greasy pole with a ham on top as prize for whichever intrepid pole climber can reach it, as wellas a paella cooking contest, parades, and fireworks.

05/22/2013

There's often quite a lot of talk in the media about the various nationalities who move to Britain to earn a living - but what about the UK nationals who go to live abroad?

There's a very interesting video clip on the BBC news site right now which tells the story of an Englishman who now resides in the Bulgarian capital, Sofia. Andy Sowray is a hop owner who has an interesting retail niche - selling British food to UK expats in the city, as well as selling them to anyone else there who fancies trying the various iconic British brands such as Marmite, Bisto and so on.

Andy's shop website is here if you want to explore further - and he also does his own line in butchery products as well selling some of the better UK beers, too. If you're in Bulgaria and homesick fro some UK treats, then this oculd definitely be a bit of a must.

01/12/2013

When we're overseas, there are always going to be things we miss about home - that much is obvious. And a lot of times what we miss about home can be quite inconsequential things, like a favourite type of biscuit or a make of snacks.

And this can happen in reverse, too - after spending quite a lot of time in southern Europe, I returned home to the UK and badly missed lemon flavour Fanta. It's the little things that can be a quite a sharp reminder that you've moved from one place to another.

Of course, the wonders of the internet - with its neverending amazingness - mean that it's fairly easy to get hold of pretty much anything grocery-wise these days as long as it's something that won't spoil in transit. So if you have a taste in exotic meats such as kangaroo or ostrich, there's likely to be an online vendor. Likewise, if you're away from the UK but fancy your favourite brand of tea bags, cooking sauces or pickled onions, then they're more than likley just a click or two away.

Sometimes there can be a little reminder of home in a foreign country, too. For many people from the UK, there could be fewer experiences more immersed in Frenchness than a stroll along the Champs-élysées. And yet - wait a second - there's a branch of M&S there! One which apparently has the highest sales of chicken tikka masala for the entire chain.

What do you miss most about home when you're overseas either on holiday or as an expatriate? let us know in the comments.

11/07/2012

There's often a little bit of debate about Christmas traditions and their origins. Now, in my humble opinion, something doesn't need to be authentic for it to be fun.

So, if the turkey is a new invention that's only 500 years old, so what? It will always be Christmas to me, even if goose was what people were eating prior to that (or peacock or wild boar).

And it's fascinating how different Christmas is from place to place. Anyone who's been to Germany and seen the Christmas markets in the incredible setting of towns like Cochem will know just how magical a time of year this can be on the continent.

Have you ever eaten carp for Christmas dinner? If you've spent the festive season in Poland, (or parts of eastern Germany) then that is what they have. I like the idea of fish on Christmas Eve, but to be honest would prefer a side of salmon or a whole lobster to carp. But these traditions are really interesting and if I find myself in Poland at any future festive season , I will most certainly do as the Polish.

One overseas Christmas that bears a fair bit of resemblance to our own dear old Blighty yuletide is that of the Australians. There's the turkey and everything. Except that given it's summer over there, things are served in a lighter way - the turkey cold or maybe even a barbecue Christmas dinner. Delicious.

What's your favourite Christmas dinner of the world? Let us know in the comments.